Carpet sweeper

ABSTRACT

A carpet sweeper comprises a body serving as a dust container and a rotary brush disposed at the center of lower portion of the body and adapted to be rotated by a driven wheel in frictional contact with wheels to be driven on the floor so as to sweep dust off the floor into the dust container. The dust container is defined by a case open at its opposite ends and two side frames integrally fixed to the ends of the case. A pair of the front and rear wheels and the driven wheel disposed therebetween are mounted on one of the side frames, while the other side frame is provided with dust outlets and a cover plate for covering the outlets. The cover plate is opened and the body is inclined for dust disposal.

United States Patent Fukuba 1 June 27, 1972 1 CARPET SWEEPER [72] Inventor: Hiroshi Fukuba, 2-320-82 Matsugaoka,

, Nagarlyama, Chiba, Japan 221 Filed: 0a.12,1970' [2|] Appl. No.: 79,915

30] Foreign Application Priority Data FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 20,490 1881 Gennany 1 5/41 R Primary Examiner-Leon G. Machlin Attorney-Mason, Fenwick & Lawrence 57 ABSTRACT A carpet sweeper comprises a body serving as a dust container and a rotary brush disposed at the center of lower portion of the body and adapted to be rotated by a driven wheel in frictional contact with wheels to be driven on the floor so as to sweep dust off the floor into the dust container. The dust container is defined by a case open at its opposite ends and two side frames integrally fixed to the ends of the case. A pair of the front and rear wheels and the driven wheel disposed therebetween are mounted on one of the side frames, while the other side frame is provided with dust outlets and a cover plate for covering the outlets. The cover plate is opened and the body is inclined for dust disposal.

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B W529 time Attorneys CARPET SWEEPER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION a carpet sweeper is known which comprises a body with an open bottom portion, a rotary brush disposed at the center of the open portion, dust receptacles disposed in front and rear of the brush, wheels adapted to be driven while supporting the body above the floor and to rotate the rotary brush, and a handle attached to the top of the body for moving the body back and forth on-the floor to sweep the dust off the floor. With carpet sweepers of this type, it has heretofore been proposed to form the body of synthetic resin or thin metal plate to make the device more efficient and easier to manufacture and use.

However, since most of the sweepers already known have dust receptacles which are pivotally supported on the opposite side walls, the dustreceptacles have to be opened at the bottom of the body for the disposal of the dust accumulated. Such handling procedure is not convenient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a carpet sweeper, more particularly to a carpet sweeper which is easy to handle for the disposal .of dust.

An object of the present invention is to provide a carpet sweeper comprising a body case having a novel form and large space for accommodating dust, a first side frame for supporting wheels and a rotary brush, and a second side frame formed with dust outlets, the first and second side frames being joined with the opposite ends of the case in fitting engagement therewith to facilitate assemblage.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a carpet sweeper comprising a first side frame supporting a pair of front and rear wheels and a driven wheel disposed therebetween for driving a rotary brush and a second side frame providing a wheel supporting the other end of shaft of the rotary brush so that dust can be disposed of with great ease.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a carpet sweeper in which a handle is attached to a first frame supporting a pair of front and rear wheels and a driven wheel for a rotary brush, the body of the sweeper thus being adapted for A smooth reciprocal movement on the floor.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a carpet sweeper including springs in simple form disposed in a second side frame which perform opening and closing of the cover of dust outlets so as to make the cover easy and reliable to open and close. v I

Otherobjects of this inventionwill become more apparent from the following description of an embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention with part broken away;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a case, a first side frame and a second side frame as they are disassembled;

FIG. 3 is a front view in vertical section showing the center of a body;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view with part of the case and side frame broken away to show the interior;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation in vertical section taken along the line V--V in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI--VI in FIG. 3'.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII--VII in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A carpet sweeper of this invention shown in FIG. 1 comprises a body A provided, in its interior, with cleaner means and a slender handle B attached to the top of the body at a position toward one side thereof.

The body A comprises a case 2 formed bybending, for example, a thin metal plate and having an open bottom, the case 2 thus being adapted to carry a rotary brush 1 in its interior. By fitting side frames 3 and 4 made of a synthetic resin to the opposite ends of the case 2, the case 2 is reinforced so as to be serviceable as a body.

In order to join the side frames 3 and 4 to the case 2, small grooves 5 for inserting the edges of the case 2 are formed, as shown in FIG. 2, in the inner edges of the side frames and the edges of the case 2 coated with an adhesive are fixedly fitted into the grooves 5, or the edges inserted into the grooves 5 are fixed by screws.

The bottom of the case 2 is provided'with bottom plates 20 extending toward the rotary brush 1 to be mounted at its center. The front edge of each bottom plate 20 is formed with an upright edge 21 extending along the rotary brush 1 so that the rotary brush 1 during rotation sweeps dust off the carpet into the inside of the bottom plate 20 over the upright edge 21.

To discharge the dust swept into the interior of the bottom plates 20 from one side of the body A, the second side frame 4 is constructed in the form of a window frame provided with openings 40 suitable for a square chamber defined by a top plate 22, front and rear plates 23, and bottom plates 20. A cover plate 57 to be described later is provided for the side frame 4. Accordingly, when the dust accumulated inside the bottom plates 20 is to be discharged, the cover plate 57 is opened with the openings 40 down and with the handle B supported on the edge of a trash box, whereby the dust can be disposed of without allowing the dust to be scattered about.

The first side frame 3 attached to the other end of the case 2 has an inner side plate 30 for covering the other open end of the case 2 so as to prevent escape of the dust on the bottom plates 20. Provided outside the inner side plate 30 is a box 31 for housing front and rear wheels 7 and a driven wheel 11 in contact therewith for driving the rotary brush. The lower portion of the box 31 is open and the lower half of each wheel 7 disposed in the box 31 is therefore projected downward from the box 31 and supports the body A above the floor.

The wheels 7 are disposed within the box 31 at its front and rear portions, and positioned therebetween is the driven wheel 11 mounted on a shaft 10 of the rotary brush 1 which is transversely supported at the center of the case 2. Since there is a need to allow the wheels 7 to come into suitable pressing contact with the wheel 11 when the body A is placed on the floor so as to deliver their torque to the wheel 1 1 smoothly without loss, the horizontal portions 18 at the upper ends of arms 17 of supports 16 for supporting the wheels 7 are fitted into bearings 32 provided on the top plate of the box 31 obliquely above the wheels relative to the center of the wheels 7. The horizontal portions 18 of arms 17 are thus position by being forced into narrow cutout grooves 33 opened downward. Accordingly, the wheels 7 can be removed by forcing the arms 17 downwardly of the box 31.

To limit the angle of movement of the wheels 7 when moved away from the driven wheel 1 l, the box 31 is provided, on the inner face of the side plate, vertical projections 34 with which the projecting ends of the supports 16 are adapted to be brought into abutting contact.

Positioned at the lower portion of the side plate of the box 31 is a short shaft 36 carrying a disc cover 35. One end of the shaft 10 of the rotary brush 1 is rotatably supported on a bearing cylinder 44 mounted on the side frame 4 as will be described later and the other end of the shaft 10 is fixedly inserted into a long hub 11b formed in the driven wheel 11, a short hub 11a on the other side thereof being rotatably supported by the above-mentioned short shaft 36. When the body A is moved back and forth on the floor by the handle B, the wheels 7 in contact with the floor are rotated and the rotation is delivered to the driven wheel 11 to further drive the rotary brush 1.

A center wall portion 41 positioned at the middle part of the second side frame 4 and defining the separate front and rear porting the sweeper at this side. The center wall portion 41 is therefore located slightly inwardly of the case with stifleners 42 formed on the opposite sides, the space thus defined accommodating the idle wheel 47.

The center wall portion 41 has an outwardly projecting bearing 43 which is disposed slightly downwardly of its center, with its bearing hole receiving therein a bearing cylinder 44 made of wear resistant synthetic resin. The bearing cylinder 44 is formed in the shape of bush formed with a small hole 45 in its bottom and supports one end of the shaft of the rotary brush 1. Fitted around the outer periphery of the bearing 43 is a metal bearing ring 46, as shown in FIG. 3, on which is rotatably mounted the idle wheel 47 having approximately the same diameter as the rotary brush 1.

The rim 48 of the idle wheel 47 is provided with a deep recess 49 inside of the wheel and a shallow recess 50 outside thereof. These recesses 49 and 50 are provided with a dust exclusion disc 51 attached to the center wall 41 and another dust exclusion disc 52 attached to the outer side face of the wheel 47 for preventing lint or the like from sticking to the rotary portion of the wheel 47 during rotation.

The dust exclusion disc 51 is mounted in place by engaging small lugs 54 extending from the disc 51 with several small grooves 53. The peripheral edge of the dust exclusion disc 51 is bent into the deep recess 49 in the wheel so as to define a space 55 along with the center wall 41. Thus the space 55 serves to retain the dust therein which tends to stick to the wheel 47 during rotation.

The dust exclusion disc 52 attached to the outer side of the idle wheel 47 has a collar portion 56 firmly fitted into the hole of the bearing 43 and a peripheral portion which is bent into the shallow recess 50 of the wheel 47 so as to keep out the dust from the rotary portion of the wheel 47.

The second side frame 4 is provided with a cover plate 57 for covering the outside of the idle wheel 47 and the openings 40. The cover plate 57 is such that it completely covers the exterior of the frame portion of the side frame. To attach the cover plate to the side frame 4, the side frame 4 is formed, at the center of the upper edge, with a lintel portion 58 whose opposite ends and the front and rear shoulders of the side frame 4 are provided with holes 61 and 62 for engagement with short pins 59 and 60 extending from the cover plate 57. The short pins are pivotally supported by the holes respectively.

When the cover plate 57 is pivotally moved about the pins 59 and 60 placing the finger on its under edge, the thin cover plate 57 can be opened as shown in a chain line in FIG. 1. In order to assure smooth opening and closing of the cover plate 57, the pin holes 61 in the lintel portion 58 are such that they are open at the end surface. The open holes 61 are useful when the center portion of the cover plate 57 is slightly bent outward to fit the pins 60 on the opposite ends of the cover plate into the holes 62. Formed on the inner face of the cover plate 57 are reinforcing projections 64 for reinforcing the thin cover plate 57.

At the opposite ends, the side frame 4 has insert members 24 to be engaged firmly with the inner side portions of the case 2 for locking the second side frame 4 to the case 2.

The side frame 4 further includes arm members 65 disposed at its upper comers and extending into the case 2 along the top plate 22 of the case 2. Extending from the ends of the arm members 65 to lugs 25 at the lower portions of opposite ends of the cover plate 57 are tension spring wires 66 for retaining the cover plate 57 at the open position shown in FIG. 1 when the cover plate 57 is opened to discard the dust accumulated in the case 2.

Thus, when the cover plate 57 is opened more than 90 and the spring connections on the cover plate 57 are moved upward beyond the level of the pins 60 in FIG. 1, the tension springs act to keep the cover plate 57 open.

The cover plate 57 is further provided, on its inner face, with ribs 63 for engagement with projections 40a formed along the inner periphery of the openings 40 of the side frame 4. The engagement between the ribs 63 and the projections 40a serves to prevent escape of the dust which would otherwise get out through small clearances between the openings 40 and the inner face of the cover plate 57 due to the vibration of the body A when it is driven on the floor.

A deep groove 38 is formed in the side frame 3 along the direction of travel of the body A for attaching the handle B to the frame 3 carrying the wheels 7. Extending through the center of the groove 38 is a shaft 6 which further extends through the case 2 along the top plate 22 thereof and terminates at a receiving portion 4a formed in the side frame 4. The lower end of the handle B is connected to the shaft 6 within the groove 38.

The body A in the form of a box carries the wheels 7 for driving the rotary brush 1 only on one side thereof. In the case where the body A of such construction is moved back and forth on the carpet, the body A, because of the frictional force exerted on the carpet by the wheels 7 and the rotary brush 1, will be turned rightward or leftward as it is driven on the carpet depending upon the position where the handle B is attached to the body, with the result that there arises a difliculty of operation. Considering that the rotary brush 1 and the wheels 7 in contact with the carpet produce a great frictional force, such difiiculty may be overcome by disposing the handle in such position that the operating force thereon acts on the middle point between the center of the axial length of the rotary brush in contact with the carpet and the center of the width of the wheel 7 in contact with the carpet. However, such position is away from the side frame 3 toward the side frame 4 about one-fifth the width of the case 2, where the case 2 of low strength is located. In accordance with this invention, therefore, the lower portion of the handle B is bent toward the side frame 3 and the lower end is mounted in the groove 38 to overcome the foregoing difliculty.

The handle 13 mounted on the shaft 6 is adapted for pivotal movement back and forth along the groove 38. To regulate this movement, there is disposed on the bottom of the groove 38 a plate spring 72 which acts on the lower end of the handle B and whose opposite ends are held by stoppers 73 on the bottom of the groove 38. In this way the handle B can be retained in the upright position on the body A.

In accordance with the present invention, the case 2 is supported above the floor by means of wheels 7 and the idle wheel 47. Where the body A of such construction is operated by the handle which acts on a top portion thereof, the body A is liable to pitching movement resulting in operation difficulties and the dust may possibly be dropped off the bottom plates 20. To eliminate these objections, the side frame 3 is provided, at front and rear corners, brushes 71 each comprising a bunch of bristles, the arrangement being such that the bristle ends are adapted for contact with the floor to obviate pitching of the body A. Since the brushes 71 are brought into sliding contact with the floor surface, they also serve to clean the floor on which the wheels 7 are moved.

The brushes 7] are fixed to the brush holders 74 disposed at the front and rear portions within the box 31 of the first side frame 3, for instance, by adhering the brush heads to the holders.

When the rotary brush 1 is rotated to sweep the dust ofl' the carpet, lint or trashes will be caught on the bristles of the brush. Accordingly, cleaner combs 8 having teeth 9 for removing dust from the brush are disposed close to the front and back shoulders of the brush 1. The opposite ends of the cleaner combs 8 are connected to the opposite ends of angular arm plates 37 pivotally mounted, at their middle portions, on the shaft 6 and positioned inwardly of the side frames 3 and 4. When the rotary brush 1 is driven in either direction, the teeth 9 opposite to the direction of rotation are pushed by the ends of the bristles and forced into the brush as shown in a dotted line in FIG. 6 to remove lint and trashes off the brush into the dust receptacle.

A stopper 19 is provided on the inner side plate 30 and disposed in the angle of the arm plate 37 for limiting the action of the combs to the required range. The stopper 19 is covered with soft rubber.

A barrier plate 67 positioned above the rotary brush 1 is resiliently inserted into a small clearance between the shaft 6 and the top plate of the case 2. The barrier plate 67 serves to prevent the dust on the case bottom 20 from flying or jumping about within the case during reciprocal movement of the case to thereby keep the rotary brush 3 free of the accumulated dust.

In order to remove foreign matters such as lint, rubber band or the like from the rotary brush 1 which prevent smooth rotation or to replace the rotary brush with a new one, the rotary brush can be released from the body in the following manner. That is, when the lower portion of outer wall 31 of the first side frame 3 is bent outward as shown in dotted line in FIG. 4, the short hub 11a of driven wheel 11 of the rotary brush 1 can be released from the short shaft 36 fixed to the side wall 31 and, consequently, the other end of shaft 10 of the rotary brush 1 can be released from the bearing cylinder 44 of the idle wheel 47. To facilitate bending, the side wall 31 of the first side frame is positioned away from the groove 38 and the short shaft 36 for supporting the driven wheel 11 of the rotary brush is sufficiently away from the top of the side frame, the side wall 31 thus being made easier to bend with application of force thereon.

The case 2 includes therein jump prevention plates 68 extending respectively from the front side wall and rear side wall toward the rotary brush 1. The jump prevention plate 68 is made of a thin plate and has several projections 69 which are raised and passed through slits in the front or rear wall of the case 2 and bent so as to attach the plate 68 to the case. Some of the projections 69 extending outward from the case are further bent at their ends so as to be secured to the case.

The jump prevention plates 68 may preferably be disposed slightly above the middle of the case 2. The prevention plates keep the dust on the bottom plates from jumping upward and striking against the front and rear side walls of the case as shown by the arrow and from further jumping toward the top plate.'ln addition, the plates serve to spring the dust backward to the bottom plates 20 without allowing them to jump toward the rotary brush 1. Thus, the dust once swept off the floor can be retained in the case 2 against escape. The prevention plates 68 also serve to reinforce the front and rear thin side walls to eliminate indentation to be produced upon hitting walls or furniture.

On the front and rear faces, the case 2 carries shock absorbing members 15, held by some of the projections 69 of the jump prevention plates 68 and made of rubber or the like, whose opposite ends are inserted into pockets 13 and 14 formed on the side frames 3 and 4, the body A thereby being protected against impacts when it hits furniture and walls.

Since the carpet sweeper of this invention, as already described, comprises case 2, side frames 3 and 4, shaft 6, cleaner combs 8 and rotary brush 1 which are all disposed along the axial direction of the brush 1 and can be assembled together by fitting engagement between corresponding parts, assemblage can be facilitated remarkably and the drawbacks of the metal plates and synthetic resin materials can be compensated for each other, with the resultant advantage that it is possible to use a metal plate of a smaller thickness. In spite of low weight, therefore, a strong construction can be obtained.

The carpet sweeper of this invention is further advantageous in that dust can be disposed of when the case 2 having the dust outlets on one side is inclined by the handle B with the outlets down. Therefore, dust can be discarded into a trash basket of a small opening, disposal of dust being thus facilitated.

I claim:

1. A carpet sweeper comprising a top plate portion of a case for housing cleaner means and a bottom plate portion serving as a dust receptacle, said top plate portion and said bottom plate being formed integrally wherein side frames are secured to the opposite ends of said case so as to reinforce said case, wheels being mounted on said side frames for driving a rotary brush transversely supported on said case at its center, a slender handle being attached to the top of one of said side frames, said case, said side frames and said rotary brush being assembled together along the axial direction of said rotary brush. 3

2. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 1 wherein outlets for discharging dust accumulated in said case are fonned in one of said side frames.

3. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 1 wherein outlets for discharging dust accumulated in said case are formed in said side frame which is fitted to the end of said case remote from said handle.

4. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 1 wherein a first side frame has its outer side wall positioned away from a groove and a portion of said side wall extending approximately from the upper level of said case to the lower part supporting the shaft end of said rotary brush is adapted to be bent outward so as to release said rotary brush.

5. In a carpet sweeper wherein a rotary brush transversely supported along the under face of a case is rotated so as to sweep dust off the floor into said case and the dust accumulated is discharged along the axial direction of said rotary brush, a structure comprising wheels disposed on one side of said case for rotating said rotary brush and an idle wheel disposed on the transverse side of said case. I

6. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein a handle for operating the body is mounted eccentrically on the side where wheels for driving said rotary brush is disposed.

7. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein a handle for operating the body is mounted on aside frame provided with said wheels for driving said rotary brush and the upper portion of said handle is bent so that the operating force applied to said handle acts on the center point of the combined frictional force exerted on the carpet by said rotary brush and said wheels.

8. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein said idle wheel is mounted on the end of the shaft of said rotary brush for rotation independently of said rotary brush.

9. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein said idle wheel is supported on a center wall portion which is so provided as not to block the discharge of dust from said side frame which supports one end of said rotary brush.

10. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein said idle wheel has its rotary portion covered with a dust exclusion plate fixed to the bearing portion supporting said idle wheel.

11. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein a barrier plate for preventing dust from scattering about is formed above said rotary brush and beneath the top plate of said case.

12. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein said case is provided at one of its side ends with a side frame having openings for discharging dust and a cover plate for covering said openings which is urged all the time toward a closing posi' tion by spring wires disposed in said case along its walls.

13. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 12 wherein small projections are formed along the inner peripheries of said openings for discharging dust and said cover is provided with ribs to be brought into contact with the inner peripheries of said small projections.

i t 1' i 

1. A carpet sweeper comprising a top plate portion of a case for housing cleaner means and a bottom plate portion serving as a dust receptacle, said top plate portion and said bottom plate being formed integrally wherein side frames are secured to the opposite ends of said case so as to reinforce said case, wheels being mounted on said side frames for driving a rotary brush transversely supported on said case at its center, a slender handle being attached to the top of one of said side frames, said case, said side frames and said rotary brush being assembled together along the axial direction of said rotary brush.
 2. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 1 wherein outlets for discharging dust accumulated in said case are formed in one of said side frames.
 3. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 1 wherein outlets for discharging dust accumulated in said case are formed in said side frame which is fitted to the end of said case remote from said handle.
 4. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 1 wherein a first side frame has its outer side wall positioned away from a groove and a portion of said side wall extending approximately from the upper level of said case to the lower part supporting the shaft end of said rotary brush is adapted to be bent outward so as to release said rotary brush.
 5. In a carpet sweeper wherein a rotary brush transversely supported along the under face of a case is rotated so as to sweep dust off the floor into said case and the dust accumulated is discharged along the axial direction of said rotary brush, a structure comprising wheels disposed on one side of said case for rotating said rotary brush and an idle wheel disposed on the transverse side of said case.
 6. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein a handle for operating the body is mounted eccentrically on the side where wheels for driving said rotary brush is disposed.
 7. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein a handle for operating the body is mounted on a side frame provided with said wheels for driving said rotary brush and the upper portion of said handle is bent so that the operating force applied to said handle acts on the center point of the combined frictional force exerted on the carpet by said rotary brush and said wheels.
 8. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein said idle wheel is mounted on the end of the shaft of said rotary brush for rotation indepenDently of said rotary brush.
 9. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein said idle wheel is supported on a center wall portion which is so provided as not to block the discharge of dust from said side frame which supports one end of said rotary brush.
 10. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein said idle wheel has its rotary portion covered with a dust exclusion plate fixed to the bearing portion supporting said idle wheel.
 11. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein a barrier plate for preventing dust from scattering about is formed above said rotary brush and beneath the top plate of said case.
 12. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 5 wherein said case is provided at one of its side ends with a side frame having openings for discharging dust and a cover plate for covering said openings which is urged all the time toward a closing position by spring wires disposed in said case along its walls.
 13. The carpet sweeper as set forth in claim 12 wherein small projections are formed along the inner peripheries of said openings for discharging dust and said cover is provided with ribs to be brought into contact with the inner peripheries of said small projections. 